- The EP “Chronos” was recently announced as the first release in about a year, but as Matenrou Opera, what aspect of your band did you want to showcase especially in this work?

Sono: Our previous work (“Human Dignity”, announced in February 2019) was our first album made with these 5 people since welcoming JaY and Hibiki, and in that work we also fumbled around for what the so-called new Matenrou Opera is, but in this work (Chronos) it is with certainty at last that we’ve been able to take a new step forward. As far as the new release is concerned, I think we’ve added more depth than ever before to the world of the new Matenrou Opera. On top of having fully appreciated the individuality of the new members JaY and Hibiki, we made a work with a sound that was completed by each of the 5 members individually mixing in their colours.

JaY: Eh? I’m still a “new member”? (Bitter laugh)

 

- About that, it’s because when you include the period in which he’s done support work, he’s been active for Matenrou Opera for way over 3 years already, right?

Sono: You’re right. And since his official entry too, it’s been over a little less than 2 years. (laughs)

 

- As for Hibiki as well, when you notice it, it’s been a year and little since he was admitted, right? In any case, were you able to distinctly realize the things you improved on as a band on the new “Chronos” release?

Sono: We have. If we the previous release “Human Dignity” as what we decided should be a our direction to move forward with, then with this release we wanted to do even more of  the tackling things from that point on. Additionally, this was also the same kind of mindset held by JaY and Hibiki.

 

- I see. Then, about that mindset coming from JaY and Hibiki, could we hear a little bit more about that in detail?

Hibiki: In my case, because I don’t do the songwriting itself, my job is to think of the drum arrangements to go with what the other 4 members made, but the song JaY brought with him this time is had a really strong loud rock tone to it. And because I’ve also been active in the metalcore genre before this, my opportunities to utilize that kind of drumming technique increased this time ‘round. More than it being my own input, I think it might be more correct to say that this type of song was born naturally from within these 5 people. And, in comparison to last time, the sound quality has changed considerably this release, hasn’t it? Because the engineer I newly introduced is strongly skilled in louder type of music, I think he matched really well with songs we created anew to go with this E.P release.

 

- This release definitely gives an inexhaustive and very fresh impression. On the other hand, what ideas did JaY present to the other members?

JaY: The moment I head the melody Sono had written for “Chronos”, I thought that the louder style music Hibiki had just mentioned would fit, and so that image immediately unfolded for me, thus, rather than putting it in words and bringing my idea forth like that, I did it by giving form to it in sound. As the result of pondering how I’d best express these kinds of elements in Matenrou Opera, because the music I’d always been listening to myself was in that same style, I think I’ve finally mixed them in under the right circumstances.

 

- “Chronos” is also the name of the title track of this release. Assuming that there is a reason that you chose this songs to be your spokesperson for the Matenrou Opera in the here and now, what is that reason?

Sono: That is because it is the song that best mixed together the colours all the individual 5 members hold. Because the melody I wrote contrasts with the chord progression, the “fighting” spirit of all the members stands out really well, and that is the feature we wanted to express most as the current Matenrou Opera.

 

- In “Chronos” I feel a down-to-earth vigor, or should I say a committed, promising band sound. Just a moment ago Sono mentioned the “colours all individual 5 members hold”, so for instance in the case of Yo, what point did you attach specific importance to in this song as a bassist?

Yo: This is not limited to just “Chronos”, but I’ve been feeling like we’ve become really well-balanced in the arrangement department with the 3 older members and JaY and Hibiki. Because that balance is ultimately very important, as opposed to the very song’s ambiance becoming something brand-new like nothing I’ve done before, I’m not particularly doing things different from I did before, so I think that’s what is being reflected as my own colour. (Translator’s note: what he’s saying is that he treasures the balance within the song, and as such he decided not to sacrifice the good balance they had going on in the arrangement by selfishly adding things that would disrupt the order of things.)

 

-I see. Well then, as for Ayame, did you take any certain type of approach toward “Chronos”?

Ayame: What I deliberated with myself over was, more so than how I personally wanted to play this song, what kind of keyboard’s sound I wanted to put into the song. Well, from the perspective of someone who heard the song, it might give the impression sounding relatively more on the softer side, but to be honest with you, it’s because from my perspective “Chronos” had a really strong image of Spring. If we used colours as a comparison, it felt like more pastel colours such as white and pink. And because especially in the hook I thought that kind of mood was in the air, it became a softer song since, naturally, I used a more pretty sound.

 

- That Ayame was the person in charge of the colouring of this composition is clearly shown through the sound of this song.

Ayame: When you look at what songs Matenrou Opera have produced thus far, in terms of colour I think there’s a lot  of them that in their core have a dark image. But as for “Chronos”, I felt that a more softer sound with a sense of translucency was fitting; that is what I realized as a keyboardist.

 

- That is the funny thing about music, isn’t it. Because heaviness at the bottom and the lightness of what’s on top overlap exquisitely, a new synergy is born, right?

Sono: Overall it went into a more heavy direction than anything we’ve done before, but if you look at parts of the song more separately, you’ll find their respective uniqueness showing more clearly.

Hibiki: Furthermore, the acoustic pressure has went up extremely.

 

- This song was written by Sono, but for the key establishing parts in “Chronos”, what things were taken into consideration? For one, there is probably the originality of the song but, when I compared the songs to your previous discography, it sounded like the key had been slightly lowered, was this done intentionally?

Sono: Ah, that was done intentionally. After all in the heavy metal genre, too, melodic speed metal elements have always had a strong presence. And for that reason, if the vocals aren’t high-tone vocals, then they won’t stand out over the rest. However, what I’ve recently been into is different, namely rather than singing in a raised, high voice, I’ve been strongly desiring to steadily sing a melody in a tone that is more capable of expressing the song, and so that has become a key establishment. In the end, to keep singing only in a metal voice all the time it becomes a rather hard to express your feelings. (laughs)

 

- Certainly. Even if you’re able to emphasize on the high tension and emotional uplift with your high-tone vocals, to get to the core of abundantly expressing the finer details of the emotions this approach was necessary.

Sono: That’s right. To me, I was able to sing in the most comfortable tone. Fixating on the details at the end of my sentences, it felt really good that I was able to sing in the way I wanted to. And because our new engineer too is the type of person who wanted me to properly show him that kind of range in my vocals it all went smoothly. Although the song is as intense as it is, because it feels like the degree of perfection is so high that you can properly hear every small breath in it, I’m fully satisfied.

JaY: With this song, the degree of perfection is real bloody high, isn’t it? As for the guitar as well because I’ve been going into detail, if one were to want to copy it all, you’ll have not a chance in hell at first if you’re not a pro, I think. So I’d definitely like you to give the challenge a try. (laughs)

 

- So, I’d like to ask you something about the lyrics for “Chronos”... do they by any chance hold any correlation to the world in the lyrics of every other song on this E.P.?

Sono: That’re correct, they’re connected. In the 5 songs recorded on it, the protagonist is the same person,  and the first song “Chronos” is a scene of reminiscence. It first starts of with the protagonist remembering the time they met, and the story starts with their romance moving from the past into the present as its motif.

 

Interview by Yuki Sugie

 

 

2020-4-15/2020-4-23

Original text.